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I t, 1.: TIU TH OF THE MATTER,
„1 her graceful hand to me,
I and " odded H,H 1
I An 'n, poor and low deffree;
■ l’® r wjth lhe proudest set la classed.
1 , , Pt she waved her hand to me—
I hand, which scores have vainly sought—
I yea flushed, perchance to see
Ii .visaed on and heeded not.
B Th f 1 >
i Vberk some would do or die,
Vt ", ftlll not as olhera are.
krW v , ( | ,mr hand; no heed took I,
B nih'il on my bobtail car.
I —Life.
lIEfITHEBOPER.
B y WALTER BESANT.
1 . ,ol had not written my an-
I , -i, i's sweet letter. The reason
S 1 j I red my words would prove
1 \ id; compared with his noble
1 ;i : ,<1 I was afraid besides that
I : ii say would offend or disap
i R ": , What maiden but would have
I- ■ . Yet this business with
Bj • | ;.;e resolve to lose no time,
I * . ioiisly to consider what I
I •; i ly to the long Matter which
fj .... ijn ; v bosom and read daily. In
B , undisturbed, 1 carried paper
1 • > tie fugleman’s room at the
I ' wi .ie my letter in the after
j . .cr I could snatch an hour
I, vd; !;. What was I to say in
many tender protestations
■ t j ; And how was I to speak of
■ ii W said the fugleman, “that
i., a villain. Last Tuesday week
.. n i tn to Coldstream—lace and
B, v “Athew stood in and found the
BL u j, ,, V.-t hois a villain.”
■ \, ; ,v!iabout yourself?” I asked.
I for me.” he said, “I'always said
fciat , c !he I) >y got his foot on -the low-
BLniiiu it would not be long Vie fore he
pJ ~i {ho top of the ladder. Half way
Ip u; •he is, I reckon, by now. So
a t i i-i:i sot surprised to hear of his
Li foim.a.o, and only wish I was young
mi -h to b<' liis fugleman. Tell him
;a t first if all. But Mathew is a villain,
ext vou may say that I’m well arid
mrtv, and likely to continue in the way
grace, such being my constitution and
v habits. Mathew, his cousin, is a
operate villain. Tell him that. You
ay toll him next that if he still re
-let h eggs I have got such a collection
r him us can’t be matched. As for
athew, he is a rogue and a villain,
sh, tell him. are plentiful this year, and
tors there be in plenty. Yesterday I
appo 1 a badger, and 1 know of a marten
iposite the hermitage. The birds are
Lid, but 1 had good sport with his
orsliip last winter, and hope to do sorae
limrbv myself when the nights draw
But. Nay next that I send him my faith
flul respects ami humble good wishes; and
Blatheu is a \ illain. And &s for your own
[Brett y self, you sit down .and tell him that
Merc isn’t a straigliter maid, nor one more
Beautiful, on the banks of Coquet; while,
Bb for eyes and shape and rosy lips”
I "Indeed,” I cried. “I shall tell him no
Bdi nonsense. No, I will not tell him
Bach nonsense. Y . *,
"Why. he loves tliee, sweetheart. Say
■.child, to please him, so lonely he is,
■id so lur away from us. I wish ho hod
BLpicture just now, with the pretty
IWp s on the cheeks and all. A girl
Hp to be proud for such as him to fall
Hi ve with her.”
I "Is he truly in love with me?” I said,
Bin tear.', coming into my eyes, because
Bv tin:t the words were spoken I know
By well how much I longed for that
By thing. “Why, lie says he wishes me
B Driness with my husband. As if I could
any husband hut Ralph.”
here—there,” lie cried, “tell him
Tell him that, and it will make him
•y and bring him home.”
fou think such a little tiling as that
hi bring him home?”
There's one tiling, ” said the old man,
ieh women can never understand, and
’s the strength and power of love,
re wes a man in Lord Falkland’s regi
t—but 1 cannot tell thee all the story,
iv was a young gentleman in the
rteenth, when we were stationed at
\ in love with a Spanish ladjr—
B‘ ' ‘at another time. What did
si idler care that he got COO the next
And as for the young gentleman,
fould have done the same—and always
S(> —k another dozen of duels was to
’’ alter it, and him to bo pinked in
v one. Cheerfully he would have
Ahe same for such another charmer,
tv would, and more; but women never
■erstand."
k'ii these mysterious words did he en
r: hA‘ me as to the force and vehemence
r J h' men of the passion called love.
jtVialph was only home again, we
have a protector. 1 thought of
i|i' an t hesitated no longer. Yet it was
ttmaaidenly tiling which I did, and to
’tt y I uia uncertain us to whether I
' just ified by all the circumstances. It
’’ Asides, a dangerous thing to do, be
l am convinced that nothing more
e ‘ ,;!y turns aside the fancy of a man
U V.(,mail—which is a delicate and ten
11m . even at its strongest —than the
1 but she is lacking in the raod
■li: 1 Reserve which are the choicest
t ’' ICs bf a maiden. Yet I ran that dan
h I imperiled the most precious
. ! u;e in all the world, the heart of
‘p\’h. But there is a time to speak,
V Us time to keep silence. Wliat I
J w as this;
Ralph—l have now received
and tor, and I thank you for it with
'veil. My father hath lost all in
u. imd is now returned to his native
’ v “ are, therefore, poor indeed, and
’’ uothmg to live upon except the an
l . ' ii; h he long ago bought for my
who fails* daily; when she
, ’’ 11 have nothing. Also, my
‘■ < r * s afflicted with a strange beliof
I "' is rich. This makes us unhappy.
!i th spread abroad a report that
11111! is las, and not yours at all, by
second will, which nobody has
j • A himself. I fear that you will
with your cousin. Tliefuglo
jj., 1 " v,; il and hearty, and bids me tell
I set forth as many of the
could remember. “As re
t of lil / Self ’ * ie kade me say many things
riis kind heart, for he loves lcm
but l must not write them down. My
dec i Ralph. do not say again that you
want me to have a husband I shall never
marry any husband nor love any man, ex
cept yourself, if you still continue to love
me. Indeed, there is no moment of the day
—if you will not think me unmaidenly to
confess this thing—when you are out of my
thoughts, and I pray night and morning
for your safety and sj>eeily return. Ma
thew has asked me to marry him, and is
angered because I refused. He has spread
abroad reports that you arc now a high
wayman. Will you come back to us, dear
Ralph? lam in great sadness, and I am
afraid that Mathew- means some mischief.
Yet I would not mar your fortune by call
ing you away from the work you have in
hand. Mathew threatens me with re
venge, and Barbara, his sister, bids me
read passages in the Holy Script ures
which threaten woe to sinners. I am
afraid what they may do. though I cannot
think that they can do us any evil. It makes
me unhappy to think that any can believe
here that you have be * e a highwayman
Yet I keep your letter A ret, and no one
knows where you are. The fugleman says
that a villain must have rope enough to
hang himself. Ah, Ralph, if you coaid
come back to us. But the quiet country
would be tedious to you after your splen
dors and the pleasure of an active life.
But whether you come home or whether
you stay, you must always believe that i
am your loving Dkusilla.
“P. 8. —I forgot to beg that you may
not take it ill that I have written these
words. For, indeed, you maybe married,
emit least in Jove, with one more worthy
onan myself. Audit that is, so, I wish
both her and you many years of happiness
and love, and shall only ask her to let me
iovo you still as my brother. How can
Mathew presume to court a girl who has
known Ralph!”
CHAPTER VIII.
IS IT TRUE? *
Now was Mathew pulled asunder with
a grievous doubt and anxiety. For not
only might his enemy, as he considered
him, appear at any moment to demand a
strict account, but lie knew very well
that if lie pushed on liis suit or attempted
any deviltry with us, I might send for
Ralph and ask his protection. Yet could
my story be true? llovv could I know,
and I alone, of liis welfare and the place
'of his dwelling? Was it possible, lie
thought, that such a secret, if there wits
any secret, should be intrusted to the
keeping of a mere girl? If the boy was
really doing well, why did he not return
on his twenty-first birthday and claim his
inheritance? So that the more lie thought
about it, the more he tried to persuade
himself that the thing was false. And
yet he w-as afraid; I could see that lie was
continually haunted by the fear of what
might happen. He sought me often and
begged for information concerning his
cousin. Next, lie tried my father, but
his memory as regards the lad was quite
gone; and my mother, but she took no in
terest in the subject, aud said she knew
nothing about the boy for her part.
“Yet,” said Mathew, “your daughter
pretends to know- where lie is and what
he is doing.”
“Then,” replied my mother sharply,
“Lord help the man! go and ask my
daughter.”
“But she will not tell mo.”
“Then how can I? Hark ye, Master
Mathew; you come here too often My
daughter hah given you her answer.
She bears no love to you; she will have
none of you. Go, then, and leave us alone.
Wo are poor enough, God knows, but not
so poor as to thrust husbands on o nr girl
against her will. Leave us to ourselves,
good man, and find another wife.”
After this, Mathew remained quiet
again for three or four months. That is
to say, he came no more to the house.
So great, and reasonably great, w*as my
suspicion of him that I was certain h"
w'ould do something to revenge himself
upon me, or to get me in liis pow-er. Ynt
I know' not—l could not guess—what h •
would do, or in what way he could injure
me, as if the machinations of wicked irien
can ever be suspected and guarded against;
as if the head of him who is desperately
wicked may not conceive, yea, and exe
cute tilings which an innocent girl would
believe incredible. The first alarm was
caused by a. visit from Barbara, who came
to see my mother and myself, together or
separately. She said she was a messenger
from her brother, who, whatever I might
say or think, was the most forgiving and
the most long suffering of men; that he
was perfectly prepared, if I would make
submission, ask pardon for the injurious
things I had said, and reveal what 1 knew
of Ralph, viz., where he was living, w-hat
lie w-as doing, and what were his inten
tions; to pass over all, and to take me
once more into favor.
“Good Lord!” said my mother. “Does
the man think he is the Great Bashaw?
Favor, indeed!”
“Beggars,” said Barbara, “must not be
choosers.”
At these w-ords my mother flamed up,
and asked Mistress Barbara many ques
tions relating to her birth, parentage,
wealth, religious professions, personal
beauty, and so forth, leaving her no time
to answer any. This is, witlr respect to
the memory of a kind parent, a manner of
speech common among women—even w-ell
bred city madams when they are angry.
Finally, slie said that there had been quite
enougli said about Mathew's proposals,
and that lie was to understand again,*and
once for all, that they were distasteful;
upon which Barbara coughed, and said
that she had delivered her message, that
she had no desire, for her own part, for
the alliance, wdiicli w-ould as certainly be
as distasteful to herself as it w-as to Mrs.
Hetherington, and more so, for her brother
had a right to look for fortune, which
w-ould be of much more use to him than a
baby face; that she was surprised, being a
messenger of peace, and sent by a man of
substantial estate, as all the world know,
to be thus treated by folk who were ex
pected shortly to come upon the parish,
and the daughter to be glad of honest ser
vice and a crust. But enough said.
“Hoity toity!” cried my mother. “This
is brave talking, indeed, from plain millers
and simple farmers. Is the world going
upside down?”
Barbara went away, but returned a
little before Christmas. Mathew, she re-
peated, was of so Christian a disposition
that he was still waiting for submission
ami to know w-here the boy was to be
found. She also held out her skinny finger
in warning, and when I laughed and re
fused either to make submission or to tell
where Ralph was living, she bade me
tremble, aifd read the first chapter of the
book of the Prophet Joel, applying verses
four to twelve to my own case, especially
the last clause, which on investigation
proved to be a prophecy that joy should
wither away from the sons of men. I
laughed again, but I confess that I was
disquieted. What consequences? I was
soon to discover that the woman used no
idle threat, though I believe that she did
not herself know anything of the abomi
nable plot which Mathew contriving
for our destruction. *
This, l say, was just before Christmas.
We passed the'season of festivity in com
fort. t hanks to a gift from Mr. Carnaby
of a noble sirloin and some bottles of good
wine for my father; but on Twelfth
Night my grandmother, who had become
very feeble of late, suddenly showed signs
of impending change. This w-as a trtily
dreadful thing for us, not only for the
loss of a good and affectionate parent*
which those w-lio have faith ought not to
lament, but because at her death w-e
should lose even the .small income which
we had, and there w-ould be nothing but
the housri. It was with despairing looks
that my mother and ' 1 sat by her bedside
all that night. .In the morning she died,
having been speechless for some hours;
but, as happens often with the dying, she
rallied just before the endp and recovered
for a moment the pow-er of speech.
“Child,” she whispered to me with her
last breath, “thou hast been a g#od child.
The Lord will reward thee. Be of good
hope, and never doubt that the boy will
return to be thy protector and thy
guide.”
After her funeral I asked my mother if
she had any money at all. Slie told me
that on leaving London some of their oh 1
friends made* up between them a purse of
a hundred guineas in memory of old
times, but after payment of their small
debts and the cost of the journey from
London, she had the stun of fifty-five
guineas put. by for unforeseen wants-r
--tbat w-e must live on this money as loug
as it lasted, after which she supposed w r e
must starve.
Fifty-five guineas! Why it would last
us a year and a quarter at least with pru
dence. Fifty-five guineas! It w-as a
little fortune to us. It would keep us
until I got a letter from Ralph. Where
upon I told my mother to be of good
cheer and to w-ait' patiently and hope for
the best. She sighed, being never a
woman of sanguine disposition, and ignor
ant of those secret springs of happiness
within me which made me think lightly
of present poverty.
And now you shall hear a plot of dia
bolical wickedness, which for the time
was successful. We all know that for a
season sinners are sometimes permitted
to compass tlieir own designs, but for
their surer undoing in the end.
Two days after the burial of the dame,
at a time w hen we might be supposed to
be overwhelmed by the calamity of being
JiTt destitute, Matliew came to tlie cot
tage. He looked ill at ease, and Ills eyes
met mine shiftily, but he spoke out with
boldness, while he produced a leather
pocket book and turned over certain papers
wdthin it.
“I have come, madam,” he said address
ing my mother, but looking at m~, “to
inform you or your husband—it matters
not which—that I can no longer w-ait for
Hie interest on the principal of my money,
and that you must be prepared to pay, in
take the consequences.”
“What interest? What money?” asked
my mother.
“Why,” he affected great surprise, “is
it possible that you are going to deny the
debt?”
“What means the man?” my mother
said impatiently.
“Nay,!’ said Mathew, smiling, but look
ing like a hangdog villian the w-hile.
“this passes patience. I mean, madam,
my loan to your husband.”
“What loan?” she repeated; “and
w-hen?”
“Why.” said Matliew, “if you pretend
not to know, 1 am not obliged to tell you;
but since . Well, I will tell you: I
mean this, madam; the sum of two hun
dred pounds advanced by me to your R is
band, for which, and in security, ho
hath assigned me a mortgage on this
house. ”
My mother was quite wise enough to
know what was meant by a mortgage. Slio
asked, but with pale face, where was his
mortgage.
Matliew unrolled a paper and laid it on
the table. My mother read it through
hurriedly. Then she sank back in her
chair and covered her face with her hands,
saying:
“It is true, my child. Here is thy fa
ther’s signature. This is tlie last blow.”
pi ipggi
“Here is thy father's signature.”
Mathew rolled up the paper again and
put it in his pocket.
“Can you, madam,” he asked, “pay me
my money ?”
“Go ask of the poor demented creature
to whom you lent it,” she renlied.
“Then,” said Mathew, Rif the money be
not forthcoming I must sell the house.
Yet there is a way”
“What way?” I asked.
“You know the way. You have only
to tell me where the boy is and to marry
me.”
I shook my head.
"Aud you, sir,” cried my mother, “you
who lend money to poor madmen for the
ruin of their house, you—a villain if ever
there was one—you think that I would
give my daughter to such as yon?”
“Very well, madam, very well.” said
Mathew, unmoved. “Very likely the
cottage will sell for as much as the mort
gage. Perhaps, if not. your husband
may carry liis extra\ agunces to a jail, as
provided by a righteous law.”
Here he lied, because, I believe, my
father could be called upon for nothing
more than the house which was his secu
rity.
. My mother pointed to the door, and
Mat he v/ went away, leaving us Ix-wildored
indeed. Two hundred pounds! Now, in
deed, we were ruined. But what had he
done with the money?
“Mother,” I cried, “it is a black and
base conspiracy. My father has never,
since he came from London, possessed a
single sixpence. Think of it. If lie had
a penny we should have known it. Try
to remember if ever you saw the least
sign of his having money.”
No, there was none. lie wrote no let
ters and received none, lie beught noth
ing. Lis which were now old
and worn, wore the same as those he
wore when he returned home. On the
other hand, because he was of a generous
heart, he was forever giving away what
he called money in large suras by means
of drafts upon London bankers, which he
would sign aifd press upon the recipient
with kind words. For instance, on my
birthday he always gave me an order for
£IOO on a piece of paper, signed by his
own hand, “Sol. Hetherington,” bidding
me, because I was a good girl, go
buy myself some finery and fallals.'
At Christmas, the New Y r ear,
Roodsmass, fair time. and other
times of rejoicing, he would fill his
pockets with these valuable gifts.' apd
sally forth —first to the vicar, with an
offering for the poor, saying, tliat*it was
little merit to give out of abundance; that
tbo Lord lovetli a cheerful giver; that tli’e
poor we have always with us; that a rich
man must rerhember the fate of Dives,
and that; for his part, he would that the
church had all charities in her own hand,
so that schismatics, profligates and per
sons without religion should starve, with
other pithy and seasonable remarks.
Having received the vicar’s thinks and a
glass of usquebaugh to keep out the raw
air of the morning, lie would proceed up
the village street, tlie boys and, girls
touching tlieir caps and making courte
sies to him, while the barber and black
smith would offer the compliments of the
season, with the hope that her ladyship
was well. Then he would pass the cot
tage of Sailor Nan, and would call her
out and press into her hand a folded
paper, saving that it was for Christmas
cheer; that she must rejoice, with a dish
of good roast beef and plum porridge, and
a great coal fire, anil bidding her God
speed, would go on liis charitable way,
while some laughed and some looked
grave, and tears would fall from tlie eyes
of the women to think that one so good
and generous should also be so poor.
Alas! my father was one of those who
could never become rich.
Even while we spoke of this we heard
outside the voice of my father as if to
confirm our words:
“It ill becomes men of substance, Mr.
Carnaby, to allow poorer parishioners to
bear tlie burden of such tilings. I will
myself repair the ro*sf of the church at niv
own charges. Nay, sir, permit me to take
no refusal in this matter. If it stand me
in £I,OOO I will do it. Why, it is a lend
ing unto the Lord; it is a good work.”
It happened that in some way I had
more influence over my father than any
one. That is to say, he would uqfold liis
mind —such as it was, poor man! —to me
with greater freedom than to my mother,
who could never make any show of in
terest or belief in liis magnificent designs
and charitable schemes. I therefore tried
to leyn from him, if I could, the truth of
this business. After listening to a long
story of liis intentions as regards the
church and the endowment of the living
at Wark worth, I turned the conversation
upon Mathew Humble, and asked my
father if he had of late seen and spoken
with him. He said that Mathew now
avoided rather than sought his company,
for which he knew no reason, except that
when you have ob’f.gcd a man it fre
quently happens t hat ho keeps out of your
way—a tiling, he said, of common ex
perience in the city, where young men, in
, cautious men and unlucky men often ob
tain assistance in the prolongation of bills
and loans.
“Since I have been of such great serv
ice,” lie said, “to Matliew Humble, he
seems to think that he must not come so
often as lie did. A worthy man, however,
and, perhaps, he is moved by the shame
of taking assistance. ”
“Very likely, sir,” I said, wondering
what thing, short of the pillory, with the
fugleman and his pike beside it, would
move Matliew to shame. “It is strange
that men should thus court the appear
ance of ingratitude. Did you ever, sir,
borrow money, sums of money, of
Matliew Humble?”
• Lend, you mean, Drusilla,” ho replied,
turning red with sudden anger.
“No, sir, I said borrow. Pray pardon
mo. sir, I had n<> intention to offend.”
“But you have offended, child.” ne
puffed his cheeks, and became scarlet
with sudden passion. “You have of
fended, I say. Not offended? Do
you know what you have said?
Have words meaning for you? Should
I, Solomon Hetherington, Knight,
known and venerated for my wealth
from Tower Hill to Temple Bar, and
from London Bridge to Westminster,
stoop to borrow —to borrow, I say, paltrv
sums —for lie could lend none but paltry
sums —of a petty farmer? Not mean to
offend! Zounds! the girl is mad.”
“Pray, sir, forgive me. lam so ignor
ant that I knew not”
“To be sure, my dear, to be sure.” He
became as quickly appeased as he had
bc6n easily offended. “She does not know
the difference between lending and bor
rowing. How should she?”
“And have you lent Mathew much,
sir.”
“As for lending, I have, it is true,
placed in his liarids, from time to time,
sums of money for which I have no
security and have demaijded no interest.
Eut lot that pass. lam so rich that I can
r fiord to lose Let it pass. And whether
he pays them back or not, I do not greatly
care. ”
“Yon gave this money to him.” I said,
“by drafts upon your bankers. I suppose.”
“Why, certainly. You do not suppose
that we London merchants, however rich
we are. carry our money about with us.
That would indeed be a return to barbar
ous times.”
“Then there was the paper that you
signed in the presence of an attested at
torney and of Barbara, what was that,
fatly rf’
lie laughed and made as if he were an
noyed, though he appeared pleased.
“Tut., tut,” he said. “A trifle —a mere
trifle; let an old man have his little whims
sometimes, Drusilla.”
“But wliat was it, sir?” I persisted.
“Mathew would have call it a mort
gage,” my father went on. “A mortgage,
indeed! Because he wislved his sister not
to know It was —ho. ho!—a deed of gift,
child. That is all. It was when I as
signed certain lands to him. A deed of
gift. V\\> called it a mortgage, but I could
not prevent showing Barbara by laughing
—ha, ha!—that it. was something very
different. In addition to the money, I
have bestowed upon him a field or so for
the improvement of his The gain
to him is great; the loss is small to me. A
mortgage, we agreed to call it. Ha! ha!
Duly sign xl and witnessed. Your father,
Drusilla, is not one to do things irregu
larly. Dui} 7 signed and witnessed. ” ,
This conversation made it quite clear to
that■'Matliyw had contrived an abomin
able plot fop our ruin. For the supposed
deed of gift which my father wished to
sign, lie substituted a real deed of mort
gage, ih which my father was to acknowl
edge that he had received £2OO for which
he assigned lhs house for security, and
m - *
without, as afterward appeared, any
clause as to time allowed after notice
should he given of foreclosing. How far
the lawyer was concerned in this con
spiracy I know not. Perhaps he was in
nocent. Indeed, lam now inclined to be
lievo that he was innocent of any com
plicity. How far Barbara— ] )erbup s <she,
too, was ignorant of this wickedness.
All that night I lay awake turning the
thing over in my mind. I planned a
thousand mad schemes; I would break
intp Mathew's room and steal the papers.
I.would go round the town and proclaim
his wickedness; I would inveigle him into
surrendering the papers by a false promise
of marriage; I would seek the protection
of Mr. Carnaby. All these things I con
sidered, but none of them approved them
selves on consideration, because a forger
and a cheat will always be ready, if lie
escapes punishment for the first offense,
to repeat his wickedness. Lastly, I re
solved upon seeking Mathew at the mill,
where I could talk to him at greater
freedom.
I went there in the afternoon about 2 of
the clock. When l lifted the latch 1 saw
Barbara sitting on the settle near the
window working. Before her, as usual,
lay an open Bible. Strange! that one who
was so hard and severe could draw no
comfortable things from a book which
should be full of comfort. ,
She shook her long lean forefinger at me.
“I have known,” she said, “for a long
time the ruin that hangs over your house.
I saw your father sign the mortgage. He
laughed and called it a deed gift, I remem
ber. All! good money after bad. But my
brother, who was foolish enough to lend
the money, was not so foolish as to let it
go without security. A deed of gift! Ho
is cunning, your father, and would de
ceive me if he could, I doubt not.” She
turned over the leaves and found some
thing that seemed to suit the occasion
and my demerits. “ ‘He hath made thy
vine bare.’ My brother is full of com
passion. ‘He hath made it clean bare.’
Thy punishment hath begun.”
“I wish to see your brother alone.”
“Do you come in peace or in enmity?
If in peace, yon must first make submis
sion, and confess your deceits as regards
the boy, who is surely dead. Nothing
else will satisfy him. You can begin with
me. Where is the boy?”
“What I have to say is with your
brother, not with you.”
“Go, then; but remember, when you
are married, lock not to be mistress here.
I shall continue to be the mistress as I
have always been. If youcomc-in enmity,
then you have me to battle with and not
my brother alone. Two hundred pounds
is not a sum to be given away for naught.
Men are soft where a woman is concerned;
Mathew may be a fool for your sake; you
may look to wheedle him out of his papers.
Ah, but you shall not. He may be a fool,
but I am behind. I am not soft; your
eyes will not make a fool of me, Mistress
Drusilla.”
She then bade me go within, where I
should find her brother.
It was a cloudy afternoon, and, so early
in the season, already growing dusk;
Mathew was seated beside the (ire, and on
the table a stout jar containing Hollands
which he had already begun to drink.
“Pretty Drusilla!” he cried, astonished.
“Have you brought the money?”
“No,” I said. “I come to learn if you
are in earnest or in jest.”
“In jest?” Then he swore a loud oath.
“See you, my lass; if that money is not
paid next week, your house will bo sold.
Make your account of that. But if you
comply with my conditions, the papers
shall be torn up. ”
“Then I am come to tell you, .Mathew,
that although I shall not comply with
your conditions, the cottage will not be
sold.”
“Why not?”
“Because, first of all, that mortgage is
false. 1 know now what you did. You
caused my father to sign one paper, be
lieving it to be another. That is a fraud,
and a hanging matter. Master Mathpw.”
He laughed, but uneasily, and he turned
pale. Also, which is hardly worth the
noting, he swore a great oath.
“It’s a lie!” he cried. “Prove it!”
“I can prove it, when the time comes.
Meantime, reflect, on what I have said. It
is a wicked and detestable plot. Reflect
upon this and tremble.”
He laughed again, but uneasily.
“There is another reason,” I said,
"why you will not sell the cottage. It is
this. You are afraid that Ralph may
come home and demand an account.
Well. 1 can tell yon this, that he will not
come home just yet. But. if you do this
thing a* surn as I am a’ive. Mathew. 1
wth write to lit us &n: tel, him all I shall
tell him ltw v>n have persecuted me to
marry you n<'* iiecause volt want me for
yum wile, aim Itiougu you Uuve bad your
answer a dozen times over but because
you want to plagut and spite your cousin.
! wilt tell him next, how you have spread
false rejHirts about another will, ami how
you have w|iisj>ered that be is turned
highwayman And lastly. I will tell him
how yon have practiced upon the kind
heart: of a poor demented man and made
him sign his name m testimony of your
own foul plot and falsehood 1 will not
spare you I will tell him all I will beg
him to return post haste, and to bring
with him oflicers of justice Then, in
deed. you may look for no mercy nor for
anything short of the assizes and New
castle jail
TO BE COXTIXCKT).
YOUREAIIS
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